Hop into this page’s time machine and take a trip back to the 1980s, with David Bishop playing at the Cwmtawe Sevens and being goaded by a seemingly well-refreshed section of the crowd.

The taunts had reached the point where pretty much everyone around the pitch had become aware of them and most were wondering how the notoriously feisty chap who was wearing Public School Wanderers colours that day would react.

They didn’t have to wait long to find out.

A line-out was called a few feet from where the boo-boys were standing. Bishop walked across ever so slowly, brimming with a purpose that might have made Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry run for the hills.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Bish stared at his tormentors before reportedly saying: “Who’s the big mouth?

“Come on. If any of you has something to say or wants a go, I’m here now.”

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Silence enveloped the ground. Not one of the boozed-up brigade stepped forward. Bishop carried on playing.

As the rock group UFO might have sung of Bishop around that time: “He was too, too hot/ Too hot to handle.”

Or was he?

The legendary Pontypool scrum-half came to mind this week when Manu Tuilagi and Denny Solomona were sent home from an England training camp for “team culture issues”, which may or may not be a fancy way of saying the lads went out for a sneaky night on the beer.

Eddie Jones took action just days after lauding Tuilagi and saying he was “worth time, worth effort and worth a lot of care”.

Now he must decide whether to go the extra mile with a bloke whose other indiscretions include jumping off a ferry in Auckland at the Rugby 2011 World Cup and assaulting two police officers and a taxi driver in Leicester three-and-a-half years later.

Manu Tuilagi

Some might wonder aloud how many chances one individual deserves.

But before reaching any firm conclusions on the matter, Jones really ought to satisfy himself he can do no more with the centre.

The example of Bishop suggests there might be something to be gained from putting an arm around a player who has a penchant for occasionally venturing off course.

All those years ago, Wales declined to give an extended run to the walking controversy with a No. 9 on his back. He had won a bravery award for rescuing a woman and her child from a swollen River Taff — but also got in numerous on and off pitch scrapes.

A few years ago, he told Brendan Gallagher of the Rugby Paper in a hugely enjoyable piece that if he ever did a book he would call it Angel with a Dirty Face.

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Despite performing outrageously well over an extended period — Neath RFC’s then supremo Brian Thomas called him the finest rugby player in the northern hemisphere — Bishop gained just one full cap. Such a return mocked his ability.

Of course, he played during an era of other outstanding No. 9s such as Terry Holmes and Robert Jones.

But he deserved more than he got at Test level. Much more.

Pontypool chose a different route in dealing with him, with their coach Ray Prosser deploying his man-management skills and brilliantly bringing the best out of the former amateur boxer. The wild boy was never quite tamed, but for Pooler he delivered every week. With him in the club’s ranks, supporters felt anything was possible.

Terry Holmes covers Dai Bishop during a match between Cardiff and Pontypool at the Arms Park in 1984

In the second phase of his career at The Park he teamed up with another maverick who didn’t exactly make a point of tipping his hat to authority. “He is not the sort of person to say ‘yes, sir, no sir’,” Bobby Windsor once said of Mark Ring.

But Ring — once carpeted by Cardiff for attempting a back-heeled conversion — would respond to the right prompting. Pontypool did it superbly after he joined from the Arms Park and their two half-backs oversaw some of the finest rugby played by a Welsh club at that time.

It is all about being willing to coax the best out of people.

Clearly it has to be a two-way street.

But those who occasionally stray from the straight and narrow can be worth persevering with.